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Lesson Transcript

Hi everyone, I'm Gina.
The Notting Hill Carnival happens every year in August in the Notting Hill area of London. It is a colourful celebration and the biggest carnival in Europe.
In this lesson, you're going to learn about what happens during the carnival and the history behind it.
Food is a big feature of the festival. Do you know what the most popular foods are?
We’ll show you the answer at the end of this video.
The carnival in its current form was first held in 1966 and runs over three days - the August bank holiday Monday and the two days preceding it. Over one million people attend the festival and the main event, a colourful parade, winds through 20 miles of London streets.
The carnival began as a small scale, local festival arranged by the West Indian community. From those humble beginnings it has evolved into a full-bloodied Caribbean carnival. Highlights of the weekend include a Kid's Day with a costume contest and a parade where floats and thousands of people walk through the streets.
One of the key features of the carnival is music. Steel bands line the streets and play and their music can be heard for miles. There are also displays of other types of music, such as calypso and soca, and in recent years professional and international artists have begun to play the carnival in increasing numbers.
When the carnival first started, it was without approval from the authorities. It wasn't until 1987 that the police began to take a conciliatory approach with the carnival instead of simply trying to shut it down.
And now I'll give you the answer to the earlier quiz.
Food is a big feature of the festival. Do you know what the most popular foods are?
Stalls at the festival sell many types of Caribbean food. The most popular and famous dishes are jerk chicken, curried goat and rice and peas.
How was this lesson? Did you learn something interesting?
Are there any festivals celebration a foreign culture in your country?
Leave us a comment at EnglishClass101.com. And we'll see you in the next lesson!

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